Domestic Policy Caucus in DC Journal: Debanking Is a Serious Problem for Marginalized People

Domestic Policy Caucus Secretary/Treasurer Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., penned an op-ed for the DC Journal, an Inside Sources publication, "Debanking is a Serious Problem for Marginalized People."

Kaiser wrote, in part, "All Americans deserve equal access to credit. There is no merit in limiting access to credit through debanking consumers and forcing them to seek unregulated, back-alley credit or to bounce a check, go bankrupt, pile up debt on a credit card, or be forced into other, even worse alternatives."

Read the full op-ed here.

NoGovInternet.com Campaign Launches Video Ad, “Stay In Your Lane,” on Cable TV in Utah

NoGovInternet.com Campaign, a project of the Domestic Policy Caucus, launched a video ad, “Stay In Your Lane,” on cable TV to inform Utahns about the folly of government running and owning the internet.

Watch the ad here.

On Interest Rate Caps, Special Interest Group Deceives Consumers

The deceptively named Center for Responsible Lending is misleading Americans in a recent one-pager about interest rate caps. While the organization paints rate caps in a positive light, it is obvious that capping rates actually harms American consumers and puts financially vulnerable people in peril.

The Center for Responsible Lending claims capping short-term loans, such as payday loans, will prevent consumers from becoming overly indebted. That could not be more wrong. Capping interest on short-term credit options forces financial institutions to be more selective in issuing loans. This means Americans who are disadvantaged, have a poor credit history, and lack access to bank accounts will be restricted from receiving the credit they need. We have already seen the consequences of these rate caps in states that have imposed them.

Let’s say people in need of small-dollar credit don’t want to take out a larger, long-term loan. Then what happens? People in difficult financial situations turn to even more undesirable alternatives like bankruptcy, bouncing checks, amassing credit card debt and paying only the monthly minimum, selling their possessions, or worse. Restricting access to credit will not prevent financial struggles, it will lead only to more challenges and hardships in America.

It is suspicious that in this piece, the Center for Responsible Lending cites mainly its own prior publications, neglecting any reliable, disinterested, or counterbalancing third-party sources. It is clear that the Center for Responsible Lending has no idea what is best for American consumers. The organization is blinded by its misguided agenda and fails to provide reliable, legitimate consumer credit information.

The Domestic Policy Caucus encourages everyone to learn more about the reality of short-term loans, and the benefit they convey to consumers by visiting the following websites: Online Lenders Alliance, Corporate Finance Institute, Boss Magazine.

NoGovInternet.com Announces Campaign to Alert Utahns about Government-Owned and Controlled Internet

In a press release, NoGovInternet.com announced the launch of a statewide campaign to oppose the expansion of government-owned broadband networks. NoGovInternet.com launched this campaign on TV and radio. It will continue to inform and educate Utahns, including outreach via digital ads, direct mail, and other multi-channel communications.

When the government owns and operates your broadband network, it controls the backbone of the internet. Putting local government in control of the speed and flow of information and personal data of its citizens poses real threats to personal freedoms and liberties, and it puts taxpayer dollars at risk. 

Nearly 80% of Utah’s residents are seeing their quality of life decrease while their cost of living increases. Utah cities are struggling every day to address population growth in urban and suburban areas while rural Utah continues to struggle to stay afloat with shrinking opportunities and population. 

Local government serves citizens best when focusing on growth-related issues such as traffic congestion, scarce water resources, crime, and public safety. Government should smartly partner with the private sector, but when government chooses to compete with, or worse, replace the private sector, it can be catastrophic for generations.

The failed experiments of iProvo and UTOPIA are Utah’s case studies for cities that have veered too far from their core duties and the proper role of government. UTOPIA is a union of city governments that have taxpayers foot the bill, putting public dollars at risk. They do this while competing with and replacing services from private providers. 

Former Speaker of the House Greg Hughes will be spearheading this important effort, delivering the information, and opening the black box behind Utah’s government takeover of broadband networks. 

“I’ve spent over 15 years in public service and have campaigned for office ten times. I have never met a single person who said they wanted the government to own and control their internet service,” Hughes said. 

“I look forward to getting good information that drives good decisions to city leaders, thought leaders, the media, and the taxpayers of Utah. If we see the day when cities have conquered the challenges of growth, water, parks, public safety, and other pressing core duties, they still should not become ‘entrepreneurs’ with their constituents’ tax dollars.”

The Domestic Policy Caucus encourages everyone to join the campaign at www.NoGovInternet.com. 

View NoGovInternet.com’s first television ad: “Not What They Do”

NoGovInternet.com on FOX13 in Salt Lake City: New TV ads go after UTOPIA and other government-run internet providers

A new TV ad is running in Utah, criticizing government-run internet providers.

The ads are part of a $1 million blitz to warn about problems associated with municipal internet systems, including high costs and a lack of regulatory oversight. The Domestic Policy Caucus is running them under the name NoGovInternet.com.

Watch and read the full story here.

Mass Priorities Letter to the Editor Appears in the Enterprise Newspapers: “Government-Owned Broadband Unreliable.”

A letter to the editor from Mass Priorities in the Enterprise newspaper chain, “Government-Owned Broadband Unreliable,” evaluates the risks and unreliability of Government-Owned Broadband.

In part, the letter says, “Government-owned broadband networks have proven time and again to be high-risk ventures where the risk lies solely with taxpayers rather than network operators. The failures of government-owned networks have already put taxpayers in Massachusetts on the hook for tens of millions of dollars.”

Read the full letter here.

NoGovInternet Launches Campaign Against Government-Owned Broadband in Utah

Today, NoGovInternet.com announced a campaign to defend Utahans from the unneeded, unwanted expansion of government-owned networks like UTOPIA. City-run networks put taxpayers, city budgets, bond-ratings, and consumers at risk.

In a press statement, the campaign said, “The track record of these government-owned networks is disrupted service, higher taxes and fees, lower government bond ratings, years-long wait times, and fleeced taxpayers. Oftentimes, these assets are sold off to private companies for pennies per tax dollar invested.”

“Despite the failure of these city-owned networks, some bureaucrats and politicians continue to seek city, state, and federal tax dollars on a big-government agenda to own the network.’ When government owns the network, it also owns the internet. This is an affront to our principles of free market capitalism and poses a threat to our individual liberties and personal freedoms.”

“Over the course of the next six weeks, we will run a seven-figure statewide media campaign to educate the public on the failure of these government-owned networks and the dangers of a government-owned internet. We are appealing to citizens, activists of all political parties, elected officials, thought leaders, think tanks – indeed, everyone who believes that the private marketplace is more reliable, capable, and dependable to manage a free, safe and secure internet than cities and government bureaucracy.”

No Gov Internet’s first television ad can be viewed here: “Not What They Do”

More information is available at NoGovInternet.com.

The Enterprise Newspaper: Mass Priorities Launches Ads Discouraging Town-Owned Networks

The Enterprise newspaper network reported today that Mass Priorities launched ads discouraging town-owned networks in Massachusetts.

Read or listen to the story here.

Mass Priorities Launches First Ads

Mass Priorities says local governments should focus on bridges and water, not unneeded, unwanted government-owned internet networks.

Mass Priorities launched its first in a series of ads today, urging town governments on Cape Cod to invest in bridges and water utilities, not government-owned networks. The launch is part of a $500,000 + statewide media push over the next three months.

“Local governments have finite resources and need to set priorities,” said Mass Priorities Policy Director Christopher Thrasher. “Across the Commonwealth, we need to spend more on improving our schools and less on pet projects that don’t move the needle for our communities. On the Cape, we need to invest our limited dollars on bridges, wastewater treatment, and other vital infrastructure projects, not waste dollars on costly and unneeded government-owned internet networks.”

The ad buy includes cable television, radio, digital, out-of-home, and print media on the Cape to educate the public on the needs of the region and is timed to lay the groundwork for critical discussions about priorities ahead of Town Meetings in the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024.     

“The track record of government-owned networks is very clear,” continued Thrasher. “They compete with other local priorities, put taxpayers at risk, and end up being sold to private sector companies for pennies on the dollar. We know that taxpayers want public dollars invested in roads and bridges, schools, and water treatment. We are urging policymakers across the commonwealth to put critical infrastructure needs before expensive pet projects.”

Ads will begin to air on Tuesday, October 31, and run through the end of the year. In addition to Cape Cod, the campaign will also run in Boston and communities across Western Massachusetts.  

See the ad, “Cape Priorities,” from Mass Priorities, a project of the Domestic Policy Caucus, here.

“Mass Priorities” Launches to Ensure Massachusetts Municipalities Invest in Community Essentials Over Risky, Capital-Intensive Projects

Mass Priorities Policy Director Christopher Thrasher announced the launch of Mass Priorities, a coalition of concerned Massachusetts residents advocating for smart, responsible use of taxpayer dollars by local elected officials.

“Mass Priorities is a campaign to prevent the misuse of taxpayer money across Massachusetts,” Thrasher said in a press release. “We will be working across the commonwealth’s 351 municipalities to educate residents about projects in their communities that would drain municipal budgets without providing real value to communities. Mass Priorities is committed to working with policymakers and local governments to prioritize government spending on real community necessities like fixing our roads and bridges, funding schools and public safety, and upgrading our wastewater management.”

Thrasher continued, “Our campaign is about security and priorities. It’s shocking that in some towns, local officials are discussing spending more than entire annual budgets for schools, public safety, veterans, senior services, and town facilities — all on pet projects that residents do not want or need.

“In Northampton, officials for years have pushed a fanciful ‘Picture Main Street’ redesign that would cost the city more than $20 million despite well-founded concerns from the residents and small businesses that will be impacted. This is all happening while Northampton public schools had to tap into emergency funds to fill a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

“That story echoes across Massachusetts. In Falmouth, officials have proposed spending upwards of $55 million on a risky, unneeded government-owned broadband network; that is more than the entire annual budget for Falmouth schools, 160 times greater than what has been allocated for veterans’ benefits, and 95 times more than what is earmarked for senior services.”

“The bottom line,” Thrasher said, “is that we need our elected officials to prioritize critical infrastructure needs like bridges and water-treatment facilities, instead of taking on unneeded, unwanted, and unreliable pet projects like government-owned broadband or unwanted street redesigns.”

Mass Priorities will begin an expansive multi-channel advertising and awareness initiative this week to draw attention to risky projects in communities across the state and urge responsible governance.